CBS Outdoor, Inc. v. Cleveland Bd. of Zoning Appeals

2013 Ohio 1173
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided March 28, 2013·No. 98141·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

Court of Appeals of Ohio

EIGHTH APPELLATE DISTRICT COUNTY OF CUYAHOGA

JOURNAL ENTRY AND OPINION No. 98141

CBS OUTDOOR, INC., ET AL.

PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS

vs.

CITY OF CLEVELAND BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS

DEFENDANT-APPELLEE

JUDGMENT:

REVERSED AND REMANDED

Administrative Appeal from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. CV-755678

BEFORE: McCormack, J., S. Gallagher, P.J., and Rocco, J.

RELEASED AND JOURNALIZED: March 28, 2013

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT

Joseph W. Diemert, Jr. Diane A. Calta Joseph W. Diemert, Jr. & Associates Co., L.P.A. 1360 SOM Center Road Cleveland, OH 44124

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE

Barbara A. Langhenry Director of Law City of Cleveland

Carolyn M. Downey Assistant Director of Law 601 Lakeside Avenue, Room 106 Cleveland, OH 44114-1077

TIM McCORMACK, J.:

{¶1} In this administrative appeal, CSX Railroad Company (“CSX”) and CBS Outdoor, Inc. (“CBS”) sought a variance that would allow CBS to operate a “tri-face” billboard in the city. The City of Cleveland’s Board of Zoning Appeals (“the Board”) denied the request, and the trial court affirmed it.

{¶2} After a careful review of the record and applicable law, we conclude this matter must be remanded to the trial court for a hearing pursuant to R.C. 2506.03(A)(5), because the Board failed to file the conclusions of fact in support of its decision to allow for a meaningful judicial review.

Substantive Facts and Procedural History

{¶3} CSX owns a property at 4965 Broadview Road, Cleveland, adjacent to Interstate 480. In 2007, CBS, a billboard company, acquired an interest in a billboard located in the property. This billboard is one of the three billboards CBS owns in the Cleveland market. When CBS acquired it in 2007, it was a traditional two-sided billboard, illuminated from the bottom of the board. The original permit for the billboard allowed a height of 50 feet. CBS later obtained a permit for a 70-foot high billboard.

{¶4} CBS was interested in converting it to a digital (LED) billboard.

However, digital (LED) billboards are prohibited under the Cleveland Codified Ordinances (“C.C.O.”). C.C.O. 350.10(j) states:

(j) Illumination. Billboards shall be illuminated only by means of continuous reflected light. Internally-illuminated or back-lit billboards shall not be permitted. Billboards shall not include automatic changeable copy signs (i.e., electronic message centers) as defined in division (f)(2) of Section 350.03. (Emphasis added.)

{¶5} C.C.O. 350.03(f) has two definitions for a “changeable copy sign,” one for an “automatic changeable copy sign,” and one for a “manual changeable copy sign.” It defines an “automatic changeable copy sign” as a “sign or portion thereof on which the copy changes automatically or animation is displayed through electrical or electronic means (e.g., time and temperature units and message centers).” It defines a “manual changeable copy sign” as a “sign or portion thereof on which copy is changed manually through placement of letters or symbols on a sign panel.”

{¶6} The city’s code prohibits digital (LED) billboards generally. The only situation where such a billboard can be installed is if it replaces at least two existing billboards that are nonconforming due to its age and condition. C.C.O. 350.10(l)(5).

{¶7} Because none of the three billboards owned by CBS were nonconforming and required replacement, CBS decided to turn the subject billboard into a “tri-face” billboard. A “tri-face” billboard is made of triangle-shaped slats, which are rotated by an electronic mechanism to display up to three different advertisements in succession. Each advertisement is displayed for a minimum of eight seconds, and it is illuminated by continuous light at the bottom of the billboard’s face, like traditional two-sided billboards; the “tri-face” feature is limited to only one side of the billboard. The “tri-face” is not specifically referred to in the city’s code, and it does not clearly fit into the definition of “automatic changeable copy sign.” CBS alleged that before it converted the subject billboard into a “tri-face” board, it was verbally advised by a city representative that such a billboard would be permissible under the city’s code. No written confirmation of such permission was introduced into the record.

{¶8} The “tri-face” billboard was operated for a year, until October 10, 2008, when the city’s Department of Building and Housing issued a Notice of Violations, citing CSX/CBS for a violation of C.C.O. 350.10(j). The city considered the “tri-face” billboard as exhibiting an “automatic changeable copy sign,” prohibited by C.C.O.350.10(j).

{¶9} In response, on December 1, 2008, CBS and CSX applied to the City of Cleveland’s Building and Housing Department for a permit to operate the subject billboard with a “changeable copy.” The next day, the city denied the permit and issued a Notice of Non-conformance. The department considered “the tri-face” billboard to be exhibiting an “automatic changeable copy sign” and, as such, was prohibited pursuant to C.C.O. 350.10(j), which provided that in a General Industry District, only billboards “illuminated by means of continuous reflected light” would be allowed.

{¶10} CSX and CBS (collectively referred to as “appellants” hereafter) filed two appeals with the Board in Case Nos. 08-205 and 08-220. In No. 08-205, they appealed from the notice of violation. In No. 08-220, they sought a variance from the requirement of C.C.O. 350.10(j).

{¶11} The issue in this case is whether a variance should be granted to allow CBS to employ the “tri-face” design in the subject billboard. A discussion on variances is necessary before we discuss any further proceedings conducted in this matter.

Use v. Area Variance: “Unnecessary Hardship”

or “Practical Difficulties”

{¶12} The case law indicates there are two types of variances: use variance and area variance. The analysis required of the zoning board in a decision to grant or deny the variance depends on whether the variance sought is a use or area variance.

{¶13} A use variance allows land uses for purposes other than those permitted in the district as prescribed in the pertinent regulation; an example of it would be a commercial use in a residential district. Schomaeker v. First Natl. Bank, 66 Ohio St.2d 304, 306-307, 421 N.E.2d 530 (1981). An area variance, on the other hand, is a variance that deviates from the zoning code restrictions placed on the construction or placement of structures, typically restrictions on yard, height, frontage, density, or set back. See Dsuban v. Union Twp. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 140 Ohio App.3d 602, 606, 748 N.E.2d 597 (12th Dist.2000)

{¶14} The type of the variance sought determines what a property owner must demonstrate in order for the variance to be granted. The courts have required a property owner seeking a use variance to demonstrate that “unnecessary hardship” would ensue if the variance is not granted. Schomaeker at 310.

{¶15} However, a lesser standard applies to a property owner seeking an area variance. Kisil v. Sandusky, 12 Ohio St.3d 30, 34, 465 N.E.2d 848 (1984). In Kisil, the

Supreme Court of Ohio held that while an application for a use request must show “unnecessary hardship,” an application for an area variance only need to establish “practical difficulties,” which, as the court explained, was a lesser standard.

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CBS Outdoor, Inc. v. Cleveland Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 2013 Ohio 1173 (Ohio Ct. App. 2013).

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